What’s your view of God? Do you see Him a scrooge? Someone that is stingy with His blessings? Only doling out to those who “deserve” it. Or, do you see Him as a generous giver? Giving even when the recipient didn’t earn it at all.
Do you feel sometimes like life is missing something? You experience a wonderful holiday like Thanksgiving, full of family or friends, and yet, it feels empty.
Maybe, you’re worried about where the money is going to come for Christmas–which is just around the corner? Or, how your kids are driving you up the wall, and it’s only been 4 days off from school!?
Studies show we have between 30,000 and 60,000 thoughts a day. We average about 50,000. And, get this, there are no neutral thoughts!
Each thought we think is either moving us closer to who God created us to be or further away. It’s either serving us or not serving us. It’s either producing joy in our lives or not.
Read MoreHave you ever had one of those days? You know the kind where you just feel off. You’re not sure why. You can’t think of a particular reason, but you’re just not feeling yourself.
How can you pull out of that quickly and not let it drag on? Is there a way that could change your mood even when you’re not sure what’s wrong?
Let me ask you this. When you were a kid, did you hate it when your mom said, “because I said so”? Were you the kid that your parents, teachers and innocent by-standers got tired of because of your constant barrage of questions.
Now that you’re an adult, do you find that new office policy ludicrous so you’re not doing it? Or, do you get bogged down in the details?
Read MoreDo you accomplish those monthly reports will no problem while simultaneously keeping up with your daily exercise routine even tracking it? Are you that person that determines to write a book or accomplish a new goal and you just make it happen?
You may be the one we all envy who always seems to get it done. That new client proposal–done! Exercise consistently every day, while tracking all your food–check!
Let me ask you, does someone “telling” you what to do make you want to run the other way? What about when you’re friend insists you should read “such and such” book? Do you purpose to never pick it up if it killed you? If you’re spouse asks you to do something more than once, do you label it nagging?
Do you ever feel like you have time to help everyone else, but when it’s time to invest in yourself, there’s no time left?
How about those New Year’s Resolutions? Did you give up on them a long time ago?
Here’s the kicker, even though you never seem to get your personal goals accomplished, you always seem to get that report to your boss on time.
Read MoreExpectations, we all have them. Some of our expectations are external such as your boss needs that report by Friday. Other exceptions are internal such as that new resolution you made to finally lose those last 10 pounds.
Have you ever struggled feeling up and down in your thoughts? One minute we’re thinking about how good God is, the next minute we’re struggling with thoughts of defeat. One day we’re on top of the world and 30 minutes later, we’re in the pit of despair...don't even think about trying to escape…oh, sorry, I got distracted.
Why should we even care if our thoughts are like a rollercoaster, up one minute and down the next?
Then she encouraged her little sister to join her on the chair. She exclaimed, “look, Grace, you’re so beautiful!” as Grace admired her own reflection in the mirror.
There delight in themselves was so sweet and innocent. They felt beautiful and they believed they were beautiful
Are RATs sinking your relationships?
I’m not talking about the furry, scampering creatures that strike fear into the hearts of most women…although Ratatouille almost changed my view of rats…almost. No, I’m talking about Really Awful Thoughts–RATs.
Has one of your family members ever been late coming home and you immediately had thoughts of a twelve car pileup on the highway? Or, how about you see your friend down the hall at church and she doesn’t wave at you…”What did I do? Why is she mad at me?”
Let’s talk about being a wife for a minute.
Do you remember when you couldn’t stand to be apart? You would stay up until the wee hours of the morning because you didn’t want to say goodbye.
Read MoreWe’ve all felt this way–or currently feel this way. It’s true that work is never complete. Once something is clean then something else takes its place. Thought you were done with laundry? Think again…you’re still wearing clothes that need to be washed. 😩
We’re all busy woman with a larger “to do” list than any one person can ever get done!
Even been around someone that has nothing but negative things to say? Every word that comes out of their mouth is a problem, a complaint or an issue–drama!
Those kinds of people drain me.
There was a day when I felt like I was one of those people. Almost everything that went through my mind was negative.
Read MoreDo you ever feel like you’re moving nowhere close to them?
For some of us, it’s a fear of getting out of our comfort zone. I know that’s a big factor for me.
It’s that place where nothing exciting happens, you know what to expect, and you can comfortably do what you need to do in this zone without stretching yourself or being afraid. Hence, COMFORT zone.
Read MoreLet’s face it, life is busy. How can we fit it all in? Work, kids, husband, friends, home? Feels like I’m good at focusing on one thing and then end up neglecting another.
You want to spend time with your kids, but those dishes in the sink are calling your name, and that laundry needs to be folded and put away, and the floor needs to be swept and the bathrooms need…and on and on it goes.
Read MoreDo you beat yourself up verbally? Or, do you say, “That’s okay, I’ll get em’ next time”?
Unfortunately, I think most of us have to would say the former. Many of us beat ourselves up verbally without mercy. I remember my old response (and somedays still) to a mistake used to be, “You’re so stupid Heather. You never get it right.”
"Negative self-talk is not humility. It’s self-defeat. It’s a toxic habit that muddies our ability to see ourselves as loved and treasured by God." Tiffany Bluhm
Read MoreLast post we talked about our self-image. Our self-image is defined as the idea, conception, or mental image one has of oneself.
We learned that changing our self-image first means we need to find out what our Creator says about us. If you missed it, you can read it here.
Do you see someone that is beautiful and made in God’s image? Or, do you see someone that needs to lose some weight, a complexion that is blotchy and hair that never seems to cooperate?
Do you believe them and say, “thank you”? Or, do you deflect the complement and think to yourself, “it couldn’t possibly be true; they’re just saying that to be nice right”?
Do you feel loved and cherished? Or, does your heart feel defeated?
